An inclusive community embracing individual spiritual growth, living our beliefs through works. We meet every Sunday at 11 am at Woodlawn School, just north of Davidson, NC. Join our email list by contacting us at info@uulakenorman.org.

Our regular Sunday morning meeting Oct. 18th at the Ada Jenkins Center has been canceled. Instead we will FIELD TRIP to Myers Park Baptist Church to hear Bishop Spong speak during the 11 am worship service. The title of his talk is “The Way Ahead- A New Reformation.”

We will meet at 9:30 am Oct. 18th at the Ada Jenkins Center to coordinate ourcarpools to Charlotte.

About Bishop Spong

John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. His admirers acclaim him as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson — he’s considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. In one of his recent books, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2005), this visionary thinker seeks to introduce readers to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible bashing. “I come to this interpretive task not as an enemy of Christianity,” he says. “I am not even a disillusioned former Christian, as some of my scholar-friends identify themselves. I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence.”

Evensong is a combination of worship and sharing (emphasis on sharing) designed by UU minister Barbara Hamilton-Hollway as a way for small groups like ours, to deepen their personal, spiritual understanding and build community through active listening. Sharing is a big part of this program and The topics covered in the first 8 sessions are listed below. Donations will be accepted during the gatherings to help cover the cost of the 8 sessions.

“Evensong: An Eight Week Series of Gatherings”

Led by Rev. Amy Brooks

1. Beginning Together: Show and Tell (bring something to share)

2. Religious and Spiritual Experiences

3. The Divine: What Do I Really Want?

4. The Human: What Limits Do I Encounter?

5. The Messiah, the Christ, the Buddha, The Divine Made Manifest: What Is Possible? What Keeps Me Going?

6. The Community: What Is Possible Together?

7. Endings: How Do I Live with Loss and Death?

8. Ministry: What Is My Ministry? What Am I Called to Do in the World?